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Friday, October 21, 2016

31 Days of Halloween 2016: The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again

[31 Days of Halloween 2016: THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW: LET'S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN]

Review by Bob Ignizio

You want me to do the "Time Warp" again? Sure, I'm
game. THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW
was an important part of my high school years in the eighties, but I'm not
averse to seeing an update. Given its origins as a stage musical that has seen
numerous revivals since its debut in 1973, new takes on ROCKY aren't exactly "new", anyway.

This new filmed incarnation, broadcast on Fox TV, has been
titled THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW:
LET'S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN. It is described as a "tribute" to
the original film, and on some level I suppose that's accurate. But it's also
accurate to describe it as a remake. A remake that seems both beholden to the
original 1975 midnight movie classic, and at the same time strangely distant.

Certain sets and shots seem almost painstakingly recreated.
Others are drastically different. The same goes for the performances.
Ostensible hero and heroine Brad Majors (Ryan McCartan) and Janet Weiss
(Victoria Justice) come across very much like the versions of the characters
played by Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon, respectively. Transylvanian
servants Riff Raff (Reeve Carney) and Magenta (Christina Millian) are decidedly
different. Millian's Magenta doesn't even allow the banister to get lucky.

Perhaps the best casting in this version is that of
transgender actor Lavern Cox in the role of Dr. Frank N. Furter, played by Tim
Curry in the original. Lavern is probably best known for her portrayal of
Sophia Bursett on 'Orange is the New Black', and having a "Sweet Transsexual"
who really is one makes for a decidedly different dynamic. Cox is also black, another
inescapable surface difference between her and Curry.

That makes it all the more frustrating that Cox then goes
out of her way to mimic Curry's accent and, at times, physical performance. That's
fine, if uninteresting, for the most part, But there are times the accent
doesn't quite work, as when she refers to the story's ostensible hero Brad
Majors (Ryan McCartan) as "Bread". Cox comes across as much more
herself when she's singing, and one wishes that would have carried over into
the spoken lines as well.

Other cast members fare considerably poorer in the singing
department. Victoria Justice does well, at times sounding almost exactly like Sarandon.
But most of the cast sound like they're trying to impress Simon on 'American
Idol'. Lots of unnecessary flourishes (especially in Ivy Levan's take on
"Science Fiction Double Feature") and general blandness (Staz Nair as
Rocky being the worst offender). And poor Ben Vereen. This is a man who most
certainly can sing, but he's given the worst possible role in that respect, that
of the wheelchair bound scientist Dr. Everett Scott.

Other off-putting aspects of this production are the
occasional cutaways to a theater audience watching the movie and delivering
some of the lines actual midnight screening fans would shout at the screen.
Never any of the really funny or offensive ones, though. It doesn't work on any
level, and just comes across as an annoying gimmick that pulls viewers out of
the film.

But the biggest problem with this version of ROCKY is how safe and sterile it all
feels. I know that times have changed a great deal since the original was
released, and even since I would sneak out to catch midnight showings in the
mid to late eighties. Even so, this material has enough of the transgressive in
it that it ought to feel edgier than it does. But this is a version of ROCKY that not only refuses to make the
cannibalism scene explicit, it won't even let Frank grease his creation up with
Vaseline.

I imagine those who have never seen THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW might at least find this a reasonably
enjoyable introduction, but it certainly offers no improvements. It feels like
everyone's hearts were in the right place, but at the end of the day this falls
into the category of pointless remakes. 2 out of 4 stars.